German Trade Surplus Increases As Exports Rise Unexpectedly, Imports Fall

Germany's trade surplus increased in August on an unexpected increase in exports amid a bigger-than-expected decline in imports, official data showed on Wednesday.Exports posted a monthly growth of...

RTT Staff Writer•Wednesday, October 9, 2024•1 min read

Germany’s trade surplus increased in August on an unexpected increase in exports amid a bigger-than-expected decline in imports, official data showed on Wednesday.

Exports posted a monthly growth of 1.3 percent in August following July’s 1.7 percent increase, Destatis reported. This was the second consecutive increase. Shipments were forecast to fall 1.0 percent.

Meanwhile, imports declined 3.4 percent, reversing an increase of 5.3 percent in July. Imports dropped for the first time in three months and came in larger than the expected fall of 2.5 percent.

As a result, the trade surplus rose to EUR 22.5 billion from EUR 16.9 billion in July. In the same period last year, the surplus totaled EUR 18.9 billion.

On a yearly basis, exports registered an annual fall of 3.1 percent, in contrast to the 5.6 percent gain seen in July. Likewise, imports slid 5.3 percent after an increase of 4.8 percent in the prior month.

Consequently, the unadjusted trade balance was in a EUR 18.9 billion surplus compared to a EUR 16.9 billion surplus in August 2023.

Exports to the EU-States grew 0.8 percent and imports from these states decreased 3.7 percent. Similarly, shipments to the Eurozone states gained 0.6 percent, while imports from these states declined 7.2 percent.

Germany exported 5.5 percent more goods to the US than in July. Exports to China gained 1.9 percent and that to the UK moved up 5.7 percent.

Imports from the US were up 0.7 percent. Meanwhile, imports from China were 1.4 percent less than in the previous month and that to the UK slid 0.1 percent, data showed.

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